ALI ZAGHARIDeputy District DirectorCaltrans, District 7Division of Traffic Operations
California law permits ILEV (Inherently Low Emission Vehicles) and previously hybrid vehicles to access HOV lanes
o Yellow decals – hybrid vehicles – 85,000 decals – Valid until 07/01/11
o Green Decals - plug-in vehicles 40,000 decals - Valid until 01/01/15
o White decals – ILEVs – 19,300 (as of DEC 2011) – Valid until 01/01/15
o Requires performance monitoring and reporting on HOV facilities that allow single occupancy vehicles (i.e. hybrids and tolled) to access since 2005
As required by Title 23 USC § 166, Caltrans prepared the “2011 California High-Occupancy Vehicle Lane Degradation Determination Report”
o Analyzes the performance of the HOV network in California
Background
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Enacted on July 6, 2012
Requires State DOTs to remedy degraded HOV/HOT facilities within
180 days
Potential sanctions: Loss of Federal funding and project approvals
Definition of Degraded Segment: Speed falls below 45 mph during the morning or evening weekday
peak hour periods for more than 10% of a 180-day period In other word, an HOV facility is considered degraded if its speed falls
below 45 mph for 3 weekdays or more each month
MAP-21Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
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Traffic collected from in-ground loop detectors, radars, or microwave vehicle detection systems
Freeway Performance Measurement System (PeMS)o Separated into multiple segmentso Each segment = 5 miles maximum
Peak Hour Data (typical statewide peak travel delay)
o Morning – 8:00 am to 9:00 amo Evening – 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Degradation status data include two 180-day periods (weekday data, including weekday holidays)
The first 180-day period is Jan. 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011o 129 weekdays and 52 weekend days
The second 180-day period is July 1, 2011 to Dec. 31, 2011o 131 weekdays and 53 weekend days
Analysis Methodology
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Analysis Methodology (Cont.)
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Degradation Severity Definitions
Degradation Severity
Percent of 180 days failing to maintain 45mph for either Morning or Evening
peak hours
Fede
rally
"D
egra
ded"
Extremely Degraded 75% or higher
Very Degraded 50%-74%
Slightly Degraded 10%-49%
Caltrans categorized degradation into three classeso Slightly degradedo Very degradedo Extremely degraded
Analysis Methodology (Cont.)
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2011 Statewide HOV Network Degradation Summary
First 180-day Period January to June 2011
Second 180-day Period July to December 2011
Total Degraded 43% 49%
Not Degraded 57% 51%
Morning Peak Hour Degradation 20% 23%
Morning Peak Hour Severity
13% slightly Degraded7% Very or Extremely
Degraded
19% Slightly Degraded4% Very or Extremely
Degraded
Evening Peak Hour Degradation 24% 40%
Evening Peak Hour Severity
19% Slightly Degraded15% Very or Extremly
Degraded
25% Slightly Degraded15% Very or Extremely
Degraded
Statewide Degradation Summary by Peak Hour (July 1 - December 31, 2011)
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Morning only degraded
153.4 lane-miles12% Morning & evening
degraded141.2 lane-miles
11%
Evening only degraded
362.0 lane-miles27%
Not degraded669.9 lane-miles
50%
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Statewide Degraded HOV Lane-MilesSummary by District
(July 1 - December 31, 2011)
Note: 1326.5 lane-miles total; numbers may not add up due to rounding
31.7
200.7 187.2
107.2
15.6
127.632.4
179.8260.3
59.3
15.6
109.1
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
District 3 District 4 District 7 District 8 District 11 District 12
Lane
-Mile
s
DegradedNot degraded
District 7 HOV Degradation Map
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Potential Causes of Degradation
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Potential Causeso Congestion in general purpose (GP) lanes
Weaving conflict at ingress/egress(I/E) locations → congests the HOV lane due to speed differential Lane drops create congestion on the mainline which effects the HOV operation
o Construction activitieso Faulty vehicle detector systemo Major Bottlenecks on the mainlineo Merging Problemso HOV volume exceeds capacityo HOV violations
Remediation Strategies District 7
Caltrans has been working very closely with FHWA for many years towards understanding the causes and identifying most effective strategies to remedy degradation levels.
The proposed Action Plans Strategies were developed by the District with input from Caltrans HQ and FHWA-California Division.
Remediation Strategies Short Term
o Improve mainline operation by removing lane drops through Restriping
o More assertive ramp and connector metering operationo In partnership with Metro, Enhance Freeway Service Patrol (FSP)
operation/deployment.o Work with CHP to improve enforcement and incident managemento Improve HOV vehicle detection infrastructure
Long Term
o HOV Direct Connectorso Increase occupancy in conjunction with HOT conversion in HOV
facility where adding an additional lane is feasible (I-105) 19
Conclusion
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In 2011, California HOV lanes carried about 13% of the traffic on the freeway during the morning peak hour and 15% during the evening peak hour
Overall increase in congestion in the latter half of the year, particularly after school begins in the late summer
Recurrent congestion or other factors could be causing degradation
The 2011 HOV Degradation Report and Action Plan were developed in compliance with federal laws
The 180-day timeframe to remediate degradation begins when the report was submitted to the FHWA, on August 1st, 2013
Our long record of working closely with FHWA will help us to continue to find efficient and effective solutions to HOV degradation challenges.
Awaiting for official response from FHWA. Anticipated to be received in September 2013
2012 Degradation Report is currently in progress
Additional studies may be needed .
What’s Next?
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THANK YOU
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
Ali ZaghariDeputy District Director, Caltrans District 7
Division of Traffic OperationsEmail: [email protected]
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